Osama bin Laden hiding place visited by Taliban

Osama bin Laden received visits from Taliban leaders and wealthy Arab supporters while he was hiding out in a fortified compound in a Pakistani garrison town, it has emerged.

A still from a bin Laden video released by the US Department of Defense. The al-Qaeda leader was visited in Pakistan by representatives of the Taliban.Photo: AFP

By Philip Sherwell in New York and Rob Crilly in Islamabad

7:18PM BST 14 May 2011

The revelation that the al-Qaeda chief had direct contact with his followers - and did not rely solely on messengers - came as a US-led task force urgently trawled captured documents and computer files for terror plots and information about extremists.

British intelligence agents last week joined their US counterparts to sift through the material after repeated references to Britain were found in the haul retrieved from bin Laden's compound when US commandos killed him this month.

An AfghanTaliban commander, who has previously provided reliable information to foreign media, disclosed that he had visited bin Laden at the compound in Abbottabad.

He said that the Saudi terror chief also received sporadic visits from leaders of his al-Qaeda network, Taliban allies and fellow Arab fundraisers.

The disclosure will be crucial for Western intelligence chiefs as they try and assess bin Laden's role in international terror operations. They had initially believed that his contact with the outside world was conducted via messages on computer thumb drives.

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When the commander, who asked not to be named, last saw bin Laden in Abbottabad two years ago, he seemed healthy and well briefed on recent developments, but concerned about his safety and money.

Bin Laden confided that he had to continue to meet top aides because so many senior lieutenants had been captured or killed. "He said he had no choice but to be active and meet people, despite the security risks," the Taliban leader said. "He was meeting with other top al Qaeda leaders who could get access to Abbottabad without endangering their safety."

The report will once again focus attention on how bin Laden managed to live apparently undetected by the Pakistani authorities for several years less than a mile from the country's top military academy.

The Sunday Telegraph has learned that Britain was one of six countries – along with the US, Canada, Israel, Germany and Spain – identified as a target for terror strikes in the intelligence haul. Officials did not disclose specific plots or threats.

As US and European domestic security officials step up counter-terror operations amid concerns of a "lone wolf" or terror cell revenge attacks to avenge bin Laden's killing, Pakistan's intelligence services have withdrawn co-operation with their American counterparts.

Agents with the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) directorate are refusing to share details of suspects or plots in protest at the US operation to kill bin Laden, raising the potential threat of attacks on Western cities.

On Saturday the country's parliament condemned the raid, calling for a review of ties with America and warning that Pakistan could cut supply lines to US forces in Afghanistan if there were more such operations.

• Three people in the American state of Florida have been charged with providing financing and material support to the Pakistani Taliban, US federal officials said yesterday.